Throughout human history women have been portrayed as mothers, beauties, and sexual objects. We are tasked with the raising of our children and the caring of our communities. On top of this we pour blood from our bodies without anyone being the wiser, expected to keep quiet about the taboo topic of menstruation.

Tasked with my first slip-cast mold project, I thought about what I wanted to make multiples of and came to one conclusion; blood. I casted several drops and spray painted them in a deep red color, then dipped them in colored wax that produced a brownish, menstrual-like coloration when cool. Beads adorn the wire the drops hang by from the metal frame, signifying the adornment of women’s clothing.

In Fertile Duties, I wanted to communicate the idea of a generic hoop-like skirt shape cage that traps women in an endless cycle of duty to what’s expected of us from our counterparts and peers in the patriarchal society we live in.